Join through Experience Assessment

Is Experience Assessment for me?

Experience Assessment is for those with recent experience working in the people profession who meet our membership standards. People professionals are those working in HR, Learning & Development, Organisation Development & Design, Inclusion and Diversity, and other people specialisms.

If you work in one of these areas, this route to membership is for you. It could suit you whether you’re an independent consultant, you’re working for a large corporate or smaller organisation, public or private sector. It’s about demonstrating you have the knowledge, behaviours and impact required for the CIPD membership grade you want to achieve.

The experience you draw on for Experience Assessment needs to come from the last five years to ensure it’s an accurate reflection of your current practice.

Find out if Experience Assessment is for you, complete the online Pre-Assessment.

The benefits of Experience Assessment

Experience Assessment is a time-efficient and rewarding route to membership that’s designed to fit into the lives of busy people professionals.

Delivers professional recognition through membership: you can use a designation after your name that shows your experience (Assoc CIPD, Chartered MCIPD or Chartered FCIPD).
Takes as little as four months.
Not a qualification, so no studying or exams: it’s all about your experience.
Rewards your achievements and contribution to organisational success.

A professionally rewarding experience

Gives you the opportunity to reflect on your career, skills and knowledge to date.
Highlights potential areas for development towards meeting your long-term professional goals.
Benchmarks your people experience against the industry standard.

See what our members say

I always felt uneasy about my lack of HR qualifications, so this was an opportunity to get those letters after my name...CIPD membership influenced my promotion in early 2018.

Robert Colby, Assoc CIPD

Civ HR Senior Business Partner, Joint Forces Command

CIPD Chartered Membership raised my credibility within the organisation… I knew I had lots of knowledge and skills, but external recognition of that was great.

Charlotte Lewis, Chartered MCIPD

MSc, Occ. Psych, CIvHR – Talent Management, MoD

I’d recommend Experience Assessment without a shadow of a doubt. You get the time to reflect and time to really think about the future and how you’d apply some of your learnings and feedback. And it gives you credibility.

James Goodman, Chartered Fellow

Former HR Director, Tesco

I found experience assessment to be a most enlightening period of professional and personal self-reflection. It’s a great way to get professional recognition and remind yourself what you’ve accomplished.

Toby Lott, Chartered MCIPD

Group HR Manager, Infoteam Group

Becoming a CIPD member was something that I should have done sooner. So I set aside time to get my CIPD Chartered Membership through Experience Assessment. I use it on my LinkedIn profile and CV.

Paul Wickes, Chartered MCIPD

Independent HR Consultant

Experience Assessment was a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills and gain recognition for the work I’ve achieved. I should have done this years ago, and I’d urge others to do the same if they want to take another step forward in their career.

Rhodri Wyn Jones, Associate

Organisational Development Manager, National Assembly for Wales

Read what Charlotte, Robert and Anandita have achieved through Experience Assessment, and watch the stories of Kate, Linda and Jason below.

What does it involve?

The five steps of Experience Assessment can fit around your professional and personal commitments.

Step 1: Online Pre-Assessment

Find out which membership grade to apply for, based on your current level of experience. It’s free, flexible and quick with our online Pre-Assessment Tool.

Gives you an immediate result.
Takes around 10 minutes to complete.
Can help you identify areas for development.

Take the Pre-Assessment today

Step 2: Register and pay for Experience Assessment

Once you've completed the online Pre-Assessment you can register and pay for your complete Experience Assessment.

After registering you’ll get a preview of membership and CIPD member benefits, including access to professional resources, research and online communities. These will all support you throughout your online assessment.

Step 3: Online assessment

You can expect to invest around five to 10 days of your time over an eight week period to complete the following:

Knowledge and Impact Report. Demonstrate your expertise in people, work and change, and show how your work has made an impact.
Behaviour Report. Demonstrate the behaviours needed to be principles-led, evidence-based and outcomes-driven.
Your Professional Development. Provide feedback from the people you work with, reflect on your strengths and potential areas for progress, and show how your professional development is refining the way you work.

The timescale to complete the online assessment is only a guide. Our advice is to plan ahead, and give yourself enough time to think through and prepare your examples.

Step 4: Professional discussion

Approximately three to four weeks after you submit your online assessment, you’ll be invited to a two to three hour online interview with an experienced CIPD assessor. They’ll ask questions about your career, follow up on some of the examples you provided in your online assessment, and ask for additional examples of your work.

Step 5: Outcome

You'll receive the outcome of your Experience Assessment, along with a report to support your continuing professional development, within six weeks of your interview. If you're successful, you'll be awarded Associate Member, Chartered Member or Chartered Fellow grade and receive your CIPD certificate. You’ll also gain access to exclusive member benefits that will support your role every day.

Discussion forum

Discuss Experience Assessment online in the CIPD Community

Join the conversation

How much does it cost?

Fees for current members

One-off assessment fee*

When registering for Experience Assessment, current Affiliate and Associate members of the CIPD only pay the assessment fee.

Assessment for Associate £1,996
Assessment for Chartered Member £2,045
Assessment for Chartered Fellow £2,375

*the assessment fee is non-refundable.

Annual membership fee

The next time you renew your membership, and once you’ve completed Experience Assessment, you’ll pay the membership fee for the grade you’re awarded.

Fees for new members


Membership type	Joining fee	One-off assessment fee*	Membership up to 6 months valid until 30 June 2022	Membership up to 18 months valid until 30 June 2023	Total (with 18 month fee)
Associate Member	£40	£1,996	£82	£245	£2,281
Chartered Member	£40	£2,045	£95	£285	£2,370
Chartered Fellow	£40	£2,375	£108	£324	£2,739

Total = Joining fee + One-off assessment fee + 6 or 18 month membership fee.

Our membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June and you can join membership at any time.

*the assessment fee is non-refundable.

Experience Assessment not for you?

Study a Certificate or Diploma qualification which will lead to Associate membership.

Study the CIPD Advanced Diploma and upgrade to Chartered Member or Chartered Fellow.

Explore our free line manager support resources if you’re a people manager. This is typically professionals responsible for directly leading or managing employees and who enable and implement HR policies, practices and frameworks.

Ask about membership through Experience Assessment

Call +44 (0)20 8612 6208

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Call +44 (0)20 8612 6208 Contact us